n400 timing in ny city and complex case

[naina123]

got my gc on 4-oct-2004. filing for citizenship tomorrow i.e 11-mar-2010
last 5 years have been out of country for 975 days. am calculating last 5 years from today onwards. but if I calculate 5 years from when I got my GC I fulfill the 30 month criteria. do you think that will work? if not, is it a waste to file for citizenship now becuase I have been on 3 long trip >6months in the last 5 years.

also, what is the timeline for getting my fp,interview and oath in New York City

 

[cafeconleche]

Well, the minimum is 913 days in the 5 years preceding the date you are eligible, or the date you file if your eligibility date has passed. With 975 days, it's DEFINITELY no unless you had an N470 or were in the military or something. When did you take your last long trip?

 

[sanjoseaug20]

got my gc on 4-oct-2004. filing for citizenship tomorrow i.e 11-mar-2010
last 5 years have been out of country for 975 days. am calculating last 5 years from today onwards. but if I calculate 5 years from when I got my GC I fulfill the 30 month criteria. do you think that will work? if not, is it a waste to file for citizenship now becuase I have been on 3 long trip >6months in the last 5 years.

also, what is the timeline for getting my fp,interview and oath in New York City

Check the NY thread for current timelines.

Anyway, your dates and calculations indicate you are borderline in terms of residency. Unless you have some urgency, you might be better off to build some more residency. However, the trips themselves may not be a problem, it is the nature of the trips which usually is. Typical questions are
A) did you maintain ties with US during these trips - proof is maintaining residence, bank statements, insurance - car and health,
B) are these trips back to back, and
C) how long ago were these - cleaner residency in the last 3 years is better than cleaner residency in the first 3 years (in my opinion).

Can you provide your US exit / entry dates?
Also, any urgency of filing tomorrow?

 

[cafeconleche]

975 days is NOT borderline. It is DEFINITELY way over the time allowed out of the country - it is more than 2.5 years.

 

[sanjoseaug20]

975 days is NOT borderline. It is DEFINITELY way over the time allowed out of the country - it is more than 2.5 years.

I am sorry I did not calculate ... I just noticed OP's statement saying that he/she fulfills 30 months if counted in a certain way. And yes, that's the wrong way to look at it.

 

[GungaDin]

got my gc on 4-oct-2004. filing for citizenship tomorrow i.e 11-mar-2010
last 5 years have been out of country for 975 days. am calculating last 5 years from today onwards. but if I calculate 5 years from when I got my GC I fulfill the 30 month criteria. do you think that will work? if not, is it a waste to file for citizenship now becuase I have been on 3 long trip >6months in the last 5 years.

also, what is the timeline for getting my fp,interview and oath in New York City

If this is not already clear by now, DON'T FILE FOR YOUR CITIZENSHIP TOMORROW. YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE.
You may as well send $675 to a charity as they can put it to better use than USCIS.

Unfortunately, you can't 'bank' eligibility so you can't use the time from GC+ 5 yrs to calculate eligibility, you have to calculate based on today - 5 years (assuming you're applying today).
At this time you are NOT eligible so you need to wait until you have adequate physical presence.

Physical presence is the easy part. The more difficult one is 'Continuous residence for 5 years'. So if you worked for a foreign company while being away from the US, you have a pretty good chance of failing continuous residence. If it is determined that you broke continuous residence, then you cannot apply until 4 years + 1 day has passed since your return to the US to continue your permanent residence. And if you pay cursory visits to the US every few months, IO can determine that you never returned to continue your permanent residence and so your eligibility will always be 4 years into the future.

How long are these trips of >6 months.
If you can provide the dates of arrival and departure from the US, we could probably tell you when you can apply. (assuming you stay put in the US from now on)